Robert Mitchum is astonishing as a sociopathic wandering preacher who uses his fire-and-brimstone fundamentalism to mask his schemes to blithely rob and murder gullible yokels - and puritanical Shelley Winters, left alone with her son and daughter and a stash of cleverly hidden loot, is a perfect target. Lillian Gish is rock-solid as the elderly matron who shelters the children when they flee from the homicidal Mitchum. Charles Laughton’s simultaneous debut and swan song as a film director.